Why community joy is a dirty job you need to try | Jerome Moore | TEDxNashville

Key Concepts

• Joy as Public Service: The idea that joy isn’t a luxury but a fundamental need, akin to utilities like water and electricity, essential for community well-being.
• Dirty Jobs of Joy: Recognizing and valuing the often-overlooked, challenging work that contributes to community joy and resilience.
• Joy & Resilience: The connection between experiencing joy and building resilience, particularly in the face of trauma and injustice.
• Visibility of Joy: The importance of actively naming, protecting, and making visible the joy that already exists within communities.
• Joy as Strategy: Framing joy not as naive or optional, but as a powerful tool for movement building, social change, and personal empowerment.

The Importance of Naming and Protecting Joy

The speaker began by expressing frustration with the media’s focus on negativity and its failure to highlight the positive work happening within communities. This led him to create a digital series centered on “community joy,” revealing the remarkable efforts of everyday people – neighbors teaching each other Spanish, mentors empowering youth, individuals finding fulfillment in simple acts of service like serving coffee. He emphasized that these individuals weren’t seeking recognition, but were fundamentally “holding their communities together” by performing the “dirty job of joy.”

He draws a parallel to Mike Rowe’s “Dirty Jobs” television show, noting that even in messy and overlooked professions, individuals find pride, laughter, and energy because “when you do important work, regardless of how stinky or smelly it is or how hard it is, it builds something in you.” This analogy establishes joy not as a passive feeling, but as an active force built through intentional effort. He states, “Joy isn’t easy. Joy takes intention.” He further defines joy as a “public service,” comparable to essential utilities, stating, “Joy is not what you feel when the work is done. Joy is what gives me, gives you, gives us the strength to keep going.”

Historical and Global Perspectives on Joy

The speaker challenges the notion that joy is a secondary concern in movements for change, citing historical examples. He points to spirituals during slavery, which served as coded messages of survival and declarations of humanity, and the civil rights movement, where marching, dancing, and singing sustained people “even while being attacked.” He argues that joy was a crucial element in maintaining humanity “in an inhumane system.”

He then shares his experiences traveling globally – to Costa Rica, China, Paraguay, and the Philippines – and highlights the example of Mallet, Philippines, a “city of smiles.” Despite facing extreme poverty – families living on less than a cup of coffee a day – the youth in Mallet demonstrated remarkable joy, laughter, and togetherness. This observation challenged his initial assumptions and led him to realize that these communities weren’t simply surviving; they were seeking connection, wholeness, and the protection of their dignity. He succinctly states, “Joy is dignity.” He emphasizes that focusing solely on what people lack obscures their inherent power. This point is supported by research from the Greater Good Research Center at UC Berkeley, which demonstrates that joy and emotional connection reduce stress, improve decision-making, and increase resilience, particularly in communities facing trauma.

Personal Narrative and the Value of Wholeness

The speaker shares a personal story about his parents’ divorce and the resulting distance from his father. He describes this experience as the first time he understood that joy isn’t just about feeling happy, but about feeling whole. His father’s consistent motto – “Treat people right” – became a guiding value, passed down to his own son and integrated into his work. This personal anecdote underscores the importance of joy as a foundational element of well-being and ethical conduct.

The Missing Narrative in Media and the Call to Action

The speaker returns to his initial frustration with the media’s imbalance, noting its consistent focus on conflict, crime, and oppression while neglecting the “good work” happening in communities. He frames his work as an effort to make this work visible, to “shine a light on the so-called dirty jobs of joy.” He acknowledges the challenges facing communities – affordable housing, systemic injustice, political chaos – but argues that focusing solely on these issues risks overlooking the power of joy. He clarifies that joy isn’t about ignoring injustice, but about refusing to let it define the entire narrative. “Joy isn’t the opposite of struggle. No, joy is how we survive it, how we transform it.”

He recounts his experience as a community organizer, where he would begin meetings by allowing participants to share their “wins,” both big and small, and personal stories. This practice, he explains, “humanized the movement” and kept joy alive, fostering a sense of connection and empowerment. He observes that when people feel joy, they “show up differently,” becoming more engaged, vocal, and collaborative.

Finally, he issues a call to action: for the next 21 days, engage in a five-minute conversation with someone about the joy happening in your community. This simple act, he argues, makes joy visible, reminds us of its existence, and reinforces its importance. He concludes by reiterating that joy isn’t gone, but waiting to be brought to the surface, and that it is a “dirty job” that is essential for building thriving, stronger, and healthier communities.

Technical Terms & Concepts

• Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. In this context, it refers to the capacity of individuals and communities to bounce back from trauma and adversity.
• Spirituals: Traditional African-American religious folk songs that originated during slavery. They often contained coded messages and served as a source of hope and resistance.
• Greater Good Research Center (UC Berkeley): A research institute dedicated to studying the science of happiness, compassion, and altruism.
• Wholeness: A state of being complete and integrated, encompassing emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.